Crypt structure

ABSTRACT

An above-ground crypt structure wherein the crypts comprise the main structural support for the entire building and comprise a modular structural unit providing a weather-proof crypt system incorporating ventilation and protection against the elements in a simple, yet aesthetically pleasing, building structure fully capable of being erected by way of prefabricated building techniques. A substantially improved crypt ingress structure is provided requiring no special tools to permit entombments.

United States Patent 1191 1 1 3, Gaul 1 1 Aug. 5, 1975 [54] CRYPTSTRUCTURE 3.685.223 8/1972 Pauley 52/235 [75] Inventor: Michael F. Gaul,Chicago, Ill. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assignee: CryptSystems, Inc., Chicago, [11, 321,068 2/1970 Sweden 52/386 1,398,4343/1965 France 52/386 Filed: 9 1,432,668 2/1966 Francem. 52/476 634,14511/1927 Francem. 52/l36 APPL 3321248 904.694 2/1954 Germany 248/295667,573 3/1952 United Kingdom 248/295 [52] US. Cl. 52/136; 52/283;52/236;

52/263 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott [51] Int. Cl E04h 1/04 AssistantExuminerRobert C. Farber [58] Field of Search 52/136, 134, 128, 133,Attorney, Agent, or FirmHil1, Gross, Simpson, Van

52/137, 139, 142, 79, 204, 476, 598, 208, Santen, Steadman, Chiara &Simpson 57 ABSTRACT [56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Anabove-ground crypt structure wherein the crypts 101 96 2/ 91 B I 52/ 76comprise the main structural support for the entire aoian 91,568 "928German iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii H 52/l36 building and comprise d modularstructural unit pro 1 858 722 M1932 Walker 52 vidmg a weather-proofcrypt system Incorporating 6898:0213 2/1933 wi jjj: 53134 ventilationand protection against the elements in a 2'101612 12/1937 D ffy I g 752/336 simple, yet aesthetically pleasing, building structure 2,525,01710/1950 cheek et a] 52,113 fully capable of being erected by way ofprefabricated 3,005,293 10/1961 Hunter 1 1 52/598 building techniques. Asubstantially improved crypt 9 2/1964 Del Far 248/295 ingress structureis provided requiring no special tools 3,315,426 4/1967 Rolland A 52/235to permit enmmbmems- 3,383,811 5/1968 Ades 1 l l 1 1 1 52/204 3,642,3392/1972 Ruderfer 1. 52/134 6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures SHEET M p 5 5 m g\nllllil PATENTEDMJB 51915 PATENTED AUG 51975 SHEET PATENTEU 5 I975SHEET CRYPT STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Crypt structures have,of course, been long known in the prior art. The price of land in andnear large metropolitan areas has provided a continuing problem forcemeteries providing underground burial service. The need for largerecreational areas, super highways, and other municipal uses, as well asprovate land needs has caused traditional burial practices to becarefully reexamined. Recently cremation has grown in popularity as amethod of disposing of human remains. The reluctance of a great manypeople to employ such disposal methods as cremation has, however, led toa large group of persons who do not approve cremation but who recognizethe undesirability of maintaining the old-style burial plot cemeterypractice. The concept of employing an above-the-ground crypt structurehas, accordingly, received careful attention. It permits the storage ofremains on a substantially reduced acreage. This is convincinglydemonstrated by the fact that the preferred crypt design calls for atlease seven vertically stacked crypts whereas typical in-the-groundburial sites provide for a single layer of caskets and, accordingly, atleast seven times more area. Use of crypt structures permits a largeopen grass area to be maintained as parks, whereas such cemeteriesemploying the past plot system provide open space not readily usable forpark, playground, and similar purposes.

This basic need for above-the-ground burial has been recognized by many.In the past, however, a typical crypt construction has called for themanufacture of a very substantial exterior building within which cryptswere individually constructed. In such prior art systems, the exteriorbuilding walls provide substantially no crypt support, alignment, orother structural support. They merely provide an external shield againstthe elements, including structural support for the exterior walls androof. In accordance with the present invention, however, a novel cryptconfiguration is employed in which the individual vertical walls of thecrypt itself provide the structural support for the crypt buildingv Inaccordance with the present invention, each of the components of theabove-the-ground crypt is readily manufacturable on a mass-producedbasis and may be erected at substantially any cemetery site in aprefabricated, yet permanently structurally sound, completelyself-supporting manner. The crypt building of the present invention hascompletely eliminated separate exterior walls, has provided a noveldesign configuration and has enabled the ingress to individual crypts inthe building structure during funeral procedures substantially withoutthe use of special tools and in far less time than required for suchingress in prior systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention thecrypt structure is composed of a plurality of vertical upright wallsextending from the foundation floor vertically upwardly the full heightof the building under construction. Typically, crypt structurescontemplate a height of approximately seven burial crypts. Typically,crypt structures contemplate a height of approximately several burialcrypts. Typically, accordingly, this height would approximate 17 feetleaving an individual crypt height of approximately 2% feet. This heightpermits the utilization of mobile lift trucks for the insertion ofcaskets in the individual crypts and also provides a height beyond whichthe reading of burial inscriptions becomes difficult from ground level.

In accordance with the present invention, each individual wall member isprovided with support ledges on both sides projecting approximately 1%inches from the face thereof for the support of horizontal slabs ofapproximately 2% feet width and 7% feet length. The individual verticalwalls are set up with a waIl-to-wall width of approximately 2% feet sothat the individual crypt supports may be inserted in the manner ofshelves, resulting in an elevational view comprising a grid ofapproximately 2% feet X 2% feet crypts having both ends open. Theindividual ends are closed by generally rectangular closures arrangedfor insertion or removal in a simple, yet unobvious, manner. Inconstruction of the building, the upper ends of the individual uprightwall elements are secured to prefabricated roof slabs cross-connected toa plurality of walls to provide a rigid final structure which is fullyload-supporting and which is also aesthetically pleasing.

The decorative portion of each crypt may comprise a rectangular frontslab bearing a name and other relevant identifying data. Alternatively.a wall of front slabs may be formed with individual slabs constitutingcomponents of an over-all sculptural relief mosaic or the like wherebythe wall may have artistic decoration in addition to, or in substitutionfor, conventional identification materials. In accordance with thepresent invention, these decorative concepts are not interfered with bythe structural aspects of the building and, in fact, are enhanced.

Specific support elements are incorporated in the system according tothe present invention. They permit the crypt fronts to be installed atthe time of construction of the building. At the time of a burialceremony an individual crypt front may readily be removed without theneed of special tools and in a substantially instantaneous manner. Theslab supporting and aligning structure is extremely simple and at thesame time discourages vandalism by providing an arrangement which isunobvious with respect to ingress.

It is, accordingly, an object to provide an improved crypt structuresystem which incorporates an extremely simple and yet highly efficientbuilding structure coupled with ready crypt access, all in anaesthetically pleasing construction. Other objects will, of course,become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of theattached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational drawingof the crypt structure constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the building illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a floor layout plan of the building shown in FIG. 2, on asomewhat reduced scale;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view, partially broken away, of the cryptstructure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of the building shown in FIG. 1 andtaken along the line generally of VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a detailed elevational view, in exploded form, of oneembodiment of crypt front hanger system in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a second embodiment of crypt front hanger viewed from the samedirection as the system shown in FIG. 6 and similarly an exploded view;

FIG. 8 is a side-elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial plan elevation of the structure shown in FIGS. 7 and8 taken along the line IXIX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the third embodiment of crypt fronthanger structure in an exploded view; and

FIG. II is a side-elevational view illustrating the embodiment of FIG.10 in assembled relation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As may be seen from a consideration of FIG. I, thecrypt structure of the present invention comprises an over-all buildinghaving a facade formed by crypt front slabs of a rectangularconfiguration generally indicated at 10 framed by corner trim elementsgenerally indi' cated at II, all of which is housed under an integralroof I2. The construction of the building employs a large number ofidentical structure components arranged in a manner providing a minimumnumber of special items. Thus, the crypt sidewalls are designed as astandard wall unit more clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. There, the wallindicated at is provided with a rectangular base support 16 resting uponfootings I7 and has lateral projecting supports 18 projecting onopposite sides for supporting identical crypt floor slabs 20. The lengthof the individual wall sections 15 is slightly longer than a singleburial vault. indicated at the dotted line 21. By employing a floor plansubstantially as shown in FIG. 3, the entire building may be constructedof a plurality of identical walls 15 trimmed at the corners with twopairs of identical trim panels of an L configuration, indicated at 11and Ila. By securing each of the individual walls I5 to the fixedfootings I7 by way of conventional embedded anchor bolts. structuralrigidity is given the building by the over-lapping attachment of themultiple roof panels 13 to the top edges of the walls 15 by way of thevertical tie bolts 22. Bolts 22, preferably embedded in theprefabricated walls 15, project upwardly for securement with a nut orother mechanical fastener 23. The result of this arrangement is anessential building rigidity in all horizontal directions provided by aninterlocking relationship between the vertical walls. the footings, thecorner panels 11 and the roof sections 13. A tar facing or otherconventional permanent weather-proof seal 24 is provided over the roof,with a conventional drain 25 connected to a storm sewer below grade in aconventional manner. Individual crypt air vent conduits may beintegrally molded in the concrete walls 15, as at 15c. 15d.

Additional rigidity is provided in the building structure in the form ofthe inner, or liner, end slabs 26 which are rectangular to closely fitthe rectangles formed by the respective walls I5 and floors 20. Toprovide a snug fit. the supports 18 terminate. as at 18a. 18b short ofthe respective weatherfacing wall edge 15a and inner edge wall 15b. Theslabs 26 may be sealed in place at the time of a burial by way of acement sealer or by mechanical fastening means, such as for example, bypivotal plates or butterflies 27 as shown in FIG. 6.

Outer crypt front slabs 10 are very efficiently secured in accordancewith the present invention. The several embodiments illustrated eachprovide a generally vertical channel member, which is flat in the caseof members 30 and 31 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 and U- shaped in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. I0 at 32. The channel member extendsvertically along the weather-facing edge 15a of the individual walls 15throughout the entire length thereof. Each of the channel members issecured to the weather-facing wall by means of any conventional embeddedthreaded fastener 33, 33a and screw 34 which passes through therespective channel member by way of vertically extending adjusting slots35. As a result of utilization of the veetically extending channels 30,3] or 32, slight adjustments may be made between the individual walls 15and the surface end slabs I0 to provide substantially perfect alignmentat the building site.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the individual slabs aresupported on cleats 36 which are preferably welded or otherwise fixedlymounted on channel 30 in a prefabricated position, spaced apart adistance slightly greater than the vertical dimension of the slab 10.The slabs 10 are then retained in position by the T- shaped channel 38which may be secured to the channel 30 by conventional screw. notillustrated, or, if preferred, by the securing screws 34.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, horizontalcontinuous trim strips or cleats 39 are secured to the channel 3I byscrews or other fasteners 40. In this case. the cleats 39 are spaced adistance approximately one-half inch greater than the vertical height ofthe slabs 10. As may be seen from a consideration of FIG. 8, the slabIt) may be removed from its site, there shown, by lifting the slab inthe direction of the arrow 41 until it clears the retention rib 42 whereupon the slab may be pulled fowardly at its lower edge and slipped outfrom underneath the downwardly extending leg 43 of the cleat 39. Aspring 44 may be secured by screw 45 to the channel 31 and operates tore siliently bias the slabs 10 against the flange 43. It will be seenthat the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 provide substantiallyinstantaneous insertion or withdrawal of any given crypt front slab I0.In practice, vacuum cups typically employed in the handling of plateglass are attached to the front surface of the slabs 10 to permit theirmanual manipulation in the upward and outward direction.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, channel 32 is providedwith side walls 32a and 32b which are angularly slotted as at 47 toaccommodate cleats 48. The cleats 48 are flat but lie at an angle fromthe horizontal of approximately 30 as clearly shown in FIG. 11. At thesame time, each of the crypt front slabs 10 is provided withcooperating, generally horizontal, support surfaces adjacent the sideedges. Preferably. four cleats 48 are employed with each slab 10. Thelowermost pair of these, as shown in FIG. II, has its uppermost point480 generally coincident with the centerline of the respective floorslab 20. Accordingly. the bottom edge of the slab 10 is provided with anotch 50 and the top edge of the slab 10 immediately therebelow isprovided with a fully beveled upper edge 51. Above the lower cleats 48,a pair of upper cleats is positioned in complementary notches 52.Removal of the slab II] in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 isaccomplished by a continuous upward and outward movement of the slab. Ascan be seen. the cleats 48 are identical to each other and the channels32 need only be provided with a plurality of slots 47 to provide securefastening. The cleats 48 may, of course, be rigidly secured to thechannels 32 by welding or otherwise, but it is preferred that theymerely be a snug or press fit in the slots 47 since there are no forcesacting upon the cleats 48 tending to dislodge them from the channel.

As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the crypt structure abovedescribed provides a regular facade of crypt front slabs in which theslabs may readily be removed for burial services with a minimum oflabor. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. and ll, the means ofsecuring the crypt fronts to the building proper is completely hiddenand, accordingly, a continuous mosaic design may be provided in thecrypt fronts without serious visual distraction apart from the minorvertical and horizontal lines formed by the slight gap between slabs. Asa result of the structure shown, a crypt may be substantially completelyprefabricated and installed on the site in only a few hours. Further,while the crypt building is permanent in nature, its modular design andgenerally molded construction permits its removal in a relatively shorttime should relocation or enlargement be required.

It will be further apparent that variations may be made in accordancewith the present invention without departing from the scope of the novelconcepts thereof. It will be appreciated, for example, that the footings17 may take any form, including a solid one-piece base slab and/or thatthe vertical channels 30, 31, 32 may take various cross-sectional forrnsother than those shown. While concrete is a suitable material for thewalls 15, it will be seen that other rigid materials may be employedsatisfactorily. It is, accordingly, my inten tion that the scope of theinvention be limited solely by that of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination in a building constituting a plurality of crypts, afooting, a plurality of vertically extending substantially identicalprefabricated one piece walls fixedly secured at their bases to saidfooting, each of said walls integrally incorporating a plurality ofhorizontally extending lateral support surfaces, a plurality of equallydimensioned shelves each extending between a pair of walls and supportedupon facing respective support surfaces with shelves between walls beingvertically spaced to provide crypt openings facing the outside of thebuilding, overhead interconnecting prefabricated roof slab membersextending above and across a plurality of said walls and rigidly securedto each thereof, said building having other vertical walls extendingperpendicular to at least two of said firstmentioned walls whereby saidfooting, vertical walls, shelves and interconnecting roof membersprovide a rigid structure integrating the building and the crypts.

2. The crypt building structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the othersof said walls each have at least a portion of the wall surface that iswithout shelves providing a terminal wall surface.

3. The crypt building structure set forth in claim I wherein each ofsaid walls has vertically extending hollow ducts herein substantiallyspaced horizontally and each vented at at least one point betweensuccessive vertically spaced support surfaces.

4. The crypt building structure set forth in claim I wherein a channelstructure is vertically adjustably secured to the weather-facing edge ofeach said walls and which channel structure extends substantiallycompletely along the vertical length of said wall and incorporatespreset vertically spaced supporting and retaining surfaces forreleasably securing crypt front slabs in horizontal alignment acrosssaid walls.

5. A connecting system for retaining a plurality of vertical andhorizontal rows of generally similar slab elements in position on agenerally upright grid composed of a plurality of spaced wallscomprising a plural ity of vertically extending elements, meansvertically adjustably securing one of said elements to each one of saidwalls, each of said elements having a plurality of horizontallyextending cleats thereon vertically spaced on a respective element adistance providing at least two cleats on each element in cooperativecontact with a slab, the vertical spacing between cleats being presetthe same on all vertically extending elements, each said cleat having anupwardly extending component thereof and each slab having a portionthereof extending behind said component whereby the slab isgravitationally secured to said element and to said wall.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein said means securing said elements tosaid walls comprises an adjustable connector.

1. In combination in a building constituting a plurality of crypts, afooting, a plurality of vertically extending substantially identicalprefabricated one piece walls fixedly secured at their bases to saidfooting, each of said walls integrally incorporating a plurality ofhorizontally extending lateral support surfaces, a plurality of equallydimensioned shelves each extending between a pair of walls and supportedupon facing respective support surfaces with shelves between walls beingvertically spaced to provide crypt openings facing the outside of thebuilding, overhead interconnecting prefabricated roof slab membersextending above and across a plurality of said walls and rigidly securedto each thereof, said building having other vertical walls extendingperpendicular to at least two of said first-mentioned walls whereby saidfooting, vertical walls, shelves and interconnecting roof membersprovide a rigid structure integrating the building and the crypts. 2.The crypt building structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the others ofsaid walls each have at least a portion of the wall surface that iswithout shelves providing a terminal wall surface.
 3. The crypt buildingstructure set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said walls has verticallyextending hollow ducts herein substantially spaced horizontally and eachvented at at least one point between successive vertically spacedsupport surfaces.
 4. The crypt building structure set forth in claim 1wherein a channel structure is vertically adjustably secured to theweather-facing edge of each said walls and which channel structureextends substantially completely along the vertical length of said walland incorporates preset vertically spaced supporting and retainingsurfaces for releasably securing crypt front slabs in horizontalalignment across said walls.
 5. A connecting system for retaining aplurality of vertical and horizontal rows of generally similar slabelements in position on a generally upright grid composed of a pluralityof spaced walls comprising a plurality of vertically extending elements,means vertically adjustably securing one of said elements to each one ofsaid walls, each of said elements having a plurality of horizontallyextending cleats thereon vertically spaced on a respective element adistance providing at least two cleats on each element in cooperativecontact with a slab, the vertical spacing between cleats being presetthe same on all vertically extending elements, each said cleat having anupwardly extending component thereof and each slab having a portionthereof extending behind said component whereby the slab isgravitationally secured to said element and to said wall.
 6. Thestructure of claim 5 wHerein said means securing said elements to saidwalls comprises an adjustable connector.